Basking in the Glow of Being a Superhero Genius

As you may know, my wife and I are the proud parents of eight year old twin boys, Evan and Neil.  Of the many cool things about this age, the best may be that the kids don’t yet realize their dad is somewhat of a geek with limited athletic ability.  Attributes like speed and strength are all relative – that is to say, if I am stronger than or faster than my kids, they think I am a force to be reckoned with.  And if I am somehow able to help them run faster, I am a genius to be listened to.  Who knew?

It appears that eight year olds can “master” new activities like hurdling after about three tries (why does it have to be so hard at 44?).  Above are Evan (left) and Neil (right) cruising over homemade PVC hurdles.  Not that their form is terrific, but I was floored that they could sprint/jump over all six without falling face first into the ground (as I would likely have done).

Fitness: Inspiration and Humility

Regarded by many as the godfather of fitness, Jack LaLanne passed away last week at 96.  I have never seen any of the 3000 episodes of his television show, and before last week I didn’t know much about the man.  However, after a quick scan of the internet, I am pretty sure the “godfather of fitness” label is absolutely correct. 

At 42 he set the world record for pushups:  1033 in 23 minutes (on television).  At 45 he completed 1000 pushups and 1000 chin-ups in 1 hour 22 minutes.  At 54 he challenged the 21 year old Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwartzenegger, to a chin-up competition and terminated the Terminator! 

The picture above is Mr. LaLanne at age 90, an inspiration for us all.

As I mentioned in this previous post, I have been running sprints every week with my family.  I knew I hadn’t set any records, but I was happy with my improving times.  Curiosity got the best of me, so I looked up the USA Masters Track and Field Rankings for 2010.  Let’s just say the men’s 400 meter champ (age 80-84) has me beat, as does the women’s champ (age 70-74).  Ouch.  And Wow!

How do you stack up?

Age Group	400 Meter Men	400 Meter Women	100 Meter Men	100 Meter Women
40-44	50.28	57.26	10.99	12.67
45-49	49.77	59.97	10.86	12.29
50-54	49.85	1:06.77	11.39	13.11
55-59	54.80	1:07.76	11.57	13.77
60-64	55.37	1:14.98	12.29	14.49
65-69	58.01	1:21.89	12.48	14.70
70-74	1:04:80	1:20.44	13.24	14.60
75-79	1:13.47	1:25.40	14.27	16.15
80-84	1:19.23	2:37.19	15.49	21.45

 

I find it humbling that Jack LaLanne did more than 50x the number of pushups that I can do.  Equally humbling is the fact that several 80 year old men and 70 year old women can beat me in a lap around the track.  In spite of that, I am inspired by their accomplishments and even more motivated to keep improving.